Substance Abuse and Crime
A total of 1,102,335 arrests were made in
1997 for drug abuse violations. This total
was 7 percent higher in 1997 than in 1996,
38 percent above the 1993 level and 48
percent higher than in 1988. (Federal Bureau of
Investigation. (released November 22, 1998). Crime in the
United States, Uniform Crime Reports, 1997, p. 221-23.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)
Between 1992 and 1996, juvenile arrests for
drug abuse violations increased 120 percent.
(Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
(1997, December). "Capacity Building for Juvenile
Substance Abuse Treatment." Juvenile Justice Bulletin.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)
Approximately 60 to 80 percent of the
nation's correctional population have used
drugs at some point in theirs lives; this is
twice the estimated drug use of the total U.S.
population. (Office of National Drug Control Policy,
Drug Police Information Clearinghouse. (1998, August).
Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice System.)
At least half of the 104,000 drug- and
alcohol-involved female inmates in the
United States had minor-age children living
with them before they entered prison. Many
of these women receive little or no help from
the children's father, lack supportive family
and social networks and have limited or no
financial resources. (Bureau of Justice Assistance.
(1998, April). "La Bodega de la Familia: Reaching Out to
the Forgotten Victims of Substance Abuse." Bulletin,
citing, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse,
supra.)
In a recent Child Welfare League of America
survey, state child welfare agencies estimated
that parental chemical dependency was a
contributing factor in the out-of-home
placement of at least 53% of the child
protection cases. (Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention. (1998). Responding to Alcohol
andOther Drug Problems in Child Welfare: Weaving Together
Practice and Policy, citing Child Welfare League of
America. (1997). "Alcohol and Other Drug Survey of State
Child Welfare Agencies." Draft Report. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Justice.)
In fiscal 1995, the Drug Enforcement
Administration made 13,783 domestic
seizures of nondrug property, valued at
approximately $645 million. (Office of National
Drug Control Policy, Drugs and Crime Clearinghouse.
(1996, July). Drugs and Crime Data -- Fact Sheet: Drug
Data Summary, p. 3.)
According to the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) 1995 High School Senior
Survey, 48.4 percent of high school seniors
reported use of an illicit drug at least once
during their lifetime, 39 percent reported use
of an illicit drug within the past year and
23.8 percent reported use of a drug within
the past month. (Ibid., p. 1)
The Administrative Office of the U.S.
Courts reported that of the 46,773 defendants
convicted in federal courts between August
1994 and September 1995, 15,861 (34%)
were convicted of federal drug offenses.
(Ibid., p. 1)
According to the BJS Federal Justice
Statistics Program, the average incarceration
sentence length imposed on all federal
offenders increased from 44 months in 1980
to 61 months in 1994, while the average
sentence imposed on drug offenders
increased from 47 months to 80 months
during that same time period. The average
incarceration sentence length imposed on
defendants convicted of state drug charges in
1992 was 67 months, of which the estimated
time served was 21 months. (Ibid., p. 3)